How well do middle school science programs measure up? Findings from Project 2061's curriculum review

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to examine how well middle school programs support the attainment of key scientific ideas specified in national science standards, and to identify typical strengths and weaknesses of these programs using research-based criteria. Nine widely used programs were examined by teams of teachers and specialists in research on teaching and learning. Reviewers found that whereas key ideas were generally present in the programs, they were typically buried between detailed or even unrelated ideas. Programs only rarely provided students with a sense of purpose for the units of study, took account of student beliefs that interfere with learning, engaged students with relevant phenomena to make abstract scientific ideas plausible, modeled the use of scientific knowledge so that students could apply what they learned in everyday situations, or scaffolded student efforts to make meaning of key phenomena and ideas presented in the programs. New middle school science programs that reflect findings from learning research are needed to support teachers better in helping students learn key ideas in science. The criteria and findings from this study on the inadequacies in existing programs could serve as guidelines in new curriculum development. ß

Developing preservice elementary teachers' knowledge and practices through modeling‐centered scientific inquiry

“…Preparing preservice teachers to effectively use curriculum materials is an important issue (Davis, 2006) as curriculum materials play a significant role in both shaping elementary science instruction and guiding beginning teachers (Ball & Feiman-Nemser, 1988;Grossman & Thompson, 2004;Kauffman, Johnson, Kardos, Lui, & Peske, 2002;Mulholland & Wallace, 2005). Unfortunately, many of the current materials are of poor quality (Kesidou & Roseman, 2002;Stern & Roseman, 2004). In considering how to help preservice teachers learn how to teach science effectively and having the opportunity to study how to help preservice teachers learn to use curriculum materials, I theorized that giving preservice teachers opportunities to work with science curriculum materials could be useful for helping them refine their views of effective science teaching and potentially align their own views with those of reform-based practices as well as develop their critical analysis practices and build their repertoire of lessons for teaching.…”

“…The Project 2061 Criteria can be used to evaluate how well materials address specified learning goals and support teachers and students in achieving those learning goals (Kesidou & Roseman, 2002;Stern & Roseman, 2004). The Project 2061 Criteria favor materials that establish a sense of purpose, engage students with scientific phenomena, present students with scientific ideas, provide students with opportunities to use scientific ideas and apply them to new situations, provide teachers with effective assessments of student progress, and provide enhanced learning environments for all students.…”

Is alignment enough? Investigating the effects of state policies and professional development on science curriculum implementation

“…In science, most textbooks in use provide limited opportunities to develop deep understandings of the concepts that are typically part of standards documents (Kesidou & Roseman, 2002). Examples of coherent science curricula that are widely available and that reflect an understanding of how to develop deep understanding are just now emerging (Kali, Linn, & Roseman, 2008;Krajcik & Reiser, 2004).…”

The development of preservice elementary teachers' curricular role identity for science teaching

“…For example, science curriculum materials, though different from mathematics curriculum materials, also possess particular features that make them more or less effective in representing domain-specific concepts and practices to both teachers and students (Beyer, Delgado, Davis, & Krajcik, submitted for publication; Kesidou & Roseman, 2002). The generalizability of Remillard's model provides a framework through which to articulate the ways in which these differences play out in teachers' use of curriculum materials.…”